November 2009 – Twitter – what is the point?

Another month has passed and I am looking at the progress we have made using Twitter, and trying to decide does it work.  HoustonCOACH is now 25 most followed Twitter in The Woodlands.  After some rapid growth it has plateaued – partially due to some Twitter rules.  However, by following a clear strategy we have grown our followers, and more specifically Twitters who are in our target market.

The Woodlands actually grew nearly 13% in one month – HoustonCOACH grew more than that at 82% (average was 6.6%).  So what, I think the real progress was made at Facebook (www.facebook.com/houstoncoach) and my website (www.actioncoach.com/kevinsmith) where positive activity is up – almost double, which was the goal of the original strategy.

A bonus for us was that we have developed winning strategies for social networking that are making other seminar opportunities possible.  We are teaching our ActionCOACH clients how can work for them in their business and so, finding big gaps to exploit in social media.

November 2009 – Top 40 Twitters in The Woodlands, TX UPDATED

Ranking	Name	Twitter name	Profession
1	Rod Harper	rod_harper	SEO Marketing
2	Ken Brand	kenbrand	Realtor
3	John Archer	archerj	Sales consultant
4	Dr Steve Clouthier	steveclouthier	Chiropractor
5	Jamie Glisson	JAGlisson	Photographer
6	Ron Foresster	Ronforesster	Pharmacist
7	John Friend	anusarafriend	Yoga
8	Bryan Vatabedian	doctor_v	Medical Physician
9	Teresa Ford	woodlandslawyer	lawyer
10	Shawn Galloway	sateyculture	Safety
11	Larry Lundstrum	lundstudio	Media
12	Stephanie Edwards-Musa	youragentsteph	Realtor
13	Glenn Hebert	glennherbert	Internet Entreprenuer
14	Paul Segreto	paulsegreto	Marketing
15	Chuck Newton	chucknewton	Lawyer
16	T J Scheier	bestwiches	Food – Which Wich
17	Tom Kirkendall	bigkirk	Lawyer
18	RepKevinBrady	repkevinbrady	Politician
19	Cajun Maverick	cajunmaverick	Real Estate Investor
20	Annie Sherword	Jewelbeams	Author
21	Cara Ellison Halbirt	cara19	Jewelry
22	Kevin Schamel	kevinschamel	Realtor
23	Kevin Hoctor	kevinhoctor	Cocoa developer
24	Garret T Maddox	finacialcents	Finacial Advisor
25	Kevin Smith	Houstoncoach	Business Coach
26	Mary Loy	vimel	Virtual Administrator
27	Woodlands  Church	woodlandschurch	Church
28	Sue Kulipinski	funmoneymom	Entreprenuer
29	Kathi Frank	techimomma	Realtor
30	The Woodlands Resort	woodlandresort	Resort and Entertainment Complex
31	Fat Quarter World	fatquarterworld	Quilting supplies
32	Gerry Van Zandt	gerryvz	HP Analyst Relations
33	Laura Wilkinson	lala_the_diver	Sport person
34	Mike Kinney	epccinc	Management Consultant – Energy Services
35	Lance Langenhoven	beachmuney	Realtor
36	Jody Schoger	jodyms	Freelance Writer
37	Media Expo ‘09	mediaexpo_09	Media
38	Laura Miranti	boardbookalbums	Scrap booking supplies
39	Jason Stirman	stirman	Web application developer
40	Chip Abermathy	fiveous	Benefits

October 2009 – 40 Top Twitters in The Woodlands, Texas

Rank	Name	Twitter name	Profession
1	Rod Harper	rod_harper	SEO Marketing
2	Ken Brand	kenbrand	Realtor
3	John Archer	archerj	Sales consultant
4	Dr Steve Clouthier	steveclouthier	Chiropractor
5	John Friend	anusarafriend	Yoga
6	Ron Foresster	Ronforesster	Pharmacist
7	Shawn Galloway	sateyculture	Safety
8	Bryan Vatabedian	doctor_v	Medical Physician
9	Teresa Ford	woodlandslawyer	lawyer
10	Larry Lundstrum	lundstudio	Media
11	Glenn Hebert	glennherbert	Entreprenuer
12	Paul Segreto	paulsegreto	Marketing
13	Stephanie Edwards-Musa	youragentsteph	Realtor
14	T J Scheier	bestwiches	Food – Which Wich
15	Chuck Newton	chucknewton	Lawyer
16	Tom Kirkendall	bigkirk	Lawyer
17	RepKevinBrady	repkevinbrady	Politician
18	Cajun Maverick	cajunmaverick	Real Estate Invest’r
19	Annie Sherword	Jewelbeams	Author
20	Kevin Schamel	kevinschamel	Realtor
21	Cara Ellison Halbirt	cara19	Jewelry
22	Garret T Maddox	finacialcents	Finacial Advisor
23	Kevin Hoctor	kevinhoctor	Cocoa developer
24	Mary Loy	vimel	Virtual Admin
25	Sue Kulipinski	funmoneymom	Entreprenuer
26	Woodlands  Church	woodlandschurch	Church
27	Kathi Frank	techimomma	Realtor
28	Fat Quarter World	fatquarterworld	Quilting supplies
29	Gerry Van Zandt	gerryvz	HP Analyst
30	The Woodlands Resort	woodlandresort	Resort Complex
31	Laura Wilkinson	lala_the_diver	Sport person
32	Mike Kinney	epccinc	Man. Consultant
33	Lance Langenhoven	beachmuney	Realtor
34	Jody Schoger	jodyms	Freelance Writer
35	Chip Abermathy	fiveous	Benefits
36	Kevin Smith	Houstoncoach	Business Coach
37	Media Expo ‘09	mediaexpo_09	Media
38	Laura Miranti	boardbookalbums	Scrap b’king supply
39	Erica Falcon	fitness_mom
40	Jason Stirman	stirman	Web  developer

October 2009 – Twitter Houstoncoach

Last month we finally got to grips with social media, the lastest hot topic and so I thought I would share my observations.

1. Facebook can be an effective marketing too (www.facebook.com/HoustonCOACH), especially to market workshop, events, but still we need to learn how to convert interest into solid customers using this forum.
2. Twitter is challenging and certainly a media that requires education (Houstoncoach or theresultcoach).  Its easy to “tweet” to the market, but from a business perspective focusing on a targeted market is challenging.  Twellow (www.twellow.com) helps you find tweeters by region and interest – its the yellow pages of tweeting.  It’s easy to set-up and to find new followers, added 400 in one week.
3. Twellow also allows you to analyze you establish your Twitter ranking and to set goals (www.twellow.com/search?q=the+woodlands&search_cat=)
4. LinkedIN is still a challenge and working with a marketing expert in Florida to optimize…

So its an on going progress, but the cool thing is that its driving traffic to my website (www.actioncoach.com/kevinsmith).  Over 70% of traffic comes from a twitter referal…isn’t that interesting and I have been asked to give a workshop on it at the end of the month…

September 2009 – Coaching in Business

Coaching in business!? Now we’ve all heard of a coach, in terms of a football team, an athlete or even a swimmer, but for a business owner, that’s a new one! But as business moves into the new millennium, and with the rapid expansion of the communication and IT industry, it is becoming evident that the world doesn’t seem as big.

Markets are becoming global and competition is increasing as consumers have greater choice. More and more business owners are looking for that edge or the fine tuning that can make the difference in their businesses. They are looking outside their normal resources for the information and guidance they realize is needed, for them to develop and educate themselves and grow their own businesses. In business you’re either growing or you’re dying and a business will only grow to the level of it’s owner’s knowledge or beliefs. So the business owners who succeed, are those who look to increase their own knowledge and prepare to accept changes in the way they think.

To further emphasize this point let’s look at the different levels of thinking in business. Firstly we have employees, thinking “how much do I get paid?” then the managers “how can I get more out of my staff?” The next level is being “self” employed and their thinking is… you guessed it “only I can do the job properly!” The next level is a business owner who thinks “how can I get more money from this business?” taking them from working “in” their businesses to working “on” their business. This “leap” does involve a change in thinking and in this process of change, having a coach or mentor is a valuable ingredient. The final level is the illusive entrepreneur “how can I make more money with the money I have?” These are of course general concepts, but it shows that in business and in life you can achieve much more, being open to learning, change and the assistance of others. The most successful of people are the ones who realize this and seek all three in earnest.

What separates elite athletes from average athletes with great potential? Only their thought processes, techniques, motivation and of course a fantastic coach. Sure to be a top athlete you would already have these, but it’s getting there, maintaining it and constantly seeking to improve for that edge over the competition, that makes a winner.

Jim Rohn’s quote, “Never wish the job were easier, wish you were better!” says it all.

Business is simple, people are complicated and changing your business can be the easy part, changing yourself and your team can be the greatest hurdle. Having a business coach helps you maintain your motivation, refine your skills, gain constructive feedback and attain constant improvement in your business.

If you would like to learn more about how a coach could maximize the performance of your business email Kevin Smith at kevinsmith@actioncoach.com

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August 2009 – Be – Do – Have, a Formula For Success

To be meaningful, any change in life or in business has to be dramatic. Minor change is easy to accomplish but results in only minor differences. To increase the sales in your business by say 150% in three months will take massive changes in both your thinking and the way you do things.

In order to HAVE anything in life we all recognize that we have to DO something to achieve it. If you want wealth you must invest. If you want love you must first give it. If you want respect you must earn it. No matter what you want, you need to DO in order to HAVE.

But DOing is not the only thing you need to change in order to HAVE. You must BEcome the person who would have the things or persona that you desire. You must develop the identity, beliefs and values that the person who has those things has. We’ve all heard of the Lotto winner who, within three years, lost the several million he won. He didn’t become the “millionaire”.

Let’s talk a bit about BEcoming. Everyone has an identity that they developed, usually at a very young age. That identity has values and beliefs that can limit you. Perhaps you believe that customers are always looking for a discount. You will attract that sort of customer to your business because of your belief. Maybe you believe that business owners are greedy. What do you suppose you will be when you own your own business?

In order to HAVE something like a million dollars, you have to develop the beliefs and values of a millionaire, and believe me they have an identity that needs to be copied. In fact it is said that you will earn + or – 10% of the earnings of the three people you associate with the most. Why? Because you develop the values and beliefs of these people.

Business is no different.

In order to HAVE amazing customers, and amazing businesses need amazing customers, you must develop your business into one that will attract amazing customers. What is an amazing customer? It is specific to your business. Only you can define for yourself the characteristics of your amazing customer. Perhaps it includes a customer who always pays cash. Maybe one who sends you lots of referrals. You must identify who your amazing customers are and what these customers want. You must know how these customers shop. You must BE the place where these customers want to shop.

And the same is true of an amazing business. It is one where your amazing customers shop. It consistently delivers more than your customer expects. The amazing business attracts these amazing customers.

Once you are the business, then you must DO the things that make these customers know what the perfect business will do for them. Imagine, if you will, an owner of a Jaguar leaving his automobile at the local garage that looks as though it has never seen anything better than a ’64 VW Microbus. Not likely. If you want the customer to come you must BE the business to which he will come.

If you are the person or business that attracts the people in your ideal target market then they will come. Just remember you must Be as well as Do in order to Have.

July 2009 – Five Ways to Business Success through ActionCOACH

At ActionCOACH our goal is to help business owners achieve true business success through analysis and systems implementation. What that means is that we help the self-employed build a profitable commercial enterprise that works without them. After all, systems should run a business, not the owner.

The first thing we do is to access the business by working with the business owners to determine where they are, where they would like to be, and then helping them implement systems and strategies based on what we find that would be the most appropriate for that particular business’s needs (increase profitability, systems, employee training, controls, etc.).

We will be assessing the business in the five key profit generating areas: Lead Generation, Conversion Rate, Average Dollar Sale, Average Number of Transactions, and Profit Margins. Those areas are highlighted in the following equation:

Lead Generation  x  Conversion Rate  =  # Customers

# Customers x  Avg. Dollar Sale  x  Avg. # Transactions  =  Revenues

Revenues x  Profit Margins  =  $ Profits

So basically, we are looking at the equation for profitability for any business, in any market, in any industry sector. Throughout all of these sectors of business, the equation for profitability stays the same.

We have developed 367 different systems and strategies under these five variables. For example, Lead Generation has 73 systems that can be implemented to help business owners increase their lead flow. In addition, we have 86 systems that may be used to increase your Conversion Rate, and so on down the line.

Once we have established where the business is, we are able to go back and look through our systems and determine which of those would be the most appropriate to implement in increasing the profitability of that particular business type.

We use the information we have gathered on the business to put together a detailed Alignment ReportÓ that will serve as our road map to success for the next 12 months of Business Coaching.

Once we have established that the business can be profitable, we move on to our secondary goal, which takes place during the Coachingä process. That goal is to teach the business owner the difference between working on their business and working in their business. Small business owners can spend 60 hours or more per week just trying to keep their business alive. Most often, what we find is that they are working on the wrong aspects and end up spinning in a relentless circle until the business finally folds in on top of them. Our goal is to help them in working on growing their business instead of concentrating on the technical issues, which are usually counterproductive to growth.

Throughout the process of Coachingä we will spend about an hour each week with the business owner (depending on their needs) helping them stay focused on their goals, testing and measuring results, assisting them with potential obstacles for growth, systems implementation, etc. We hold our clients accountable for reaching the goals that we set together, and work diligently to help them achieve great results!

So basically, we teach the self-employed how to become successful business owners. We teach them how to make more money for less effort, and we have been very successful at that.

ActionCOACH is the largest business coaching company in the world as well as the #1 business consulting service franchise as ranked by the US-based Entrepreneur Magazine. The company was established in 1993 in Australia by a young visionary named Brad Sugars. Brad recognized early on that most owners of small and medium-sized businesses were unaware of how to effectively grow their businesses and achieve their goals. He developed a comprehensive system and methodology to assist these entrepreneurs achieve their goals and realize their dreams with dramatic results. The company began franchising in 1997, and has hundreds of franchisees (ActionCOACH Business Coaches), working in countries around the globe.

June 2009 – Reasons Why Business Owners Break Every Rule in the Book

Business coaching can be the easiest job that I know, if you keep to the rules and keep it simple. So what makes business owners/coaches break the rules.

Here are some of my reasons:

1. An inconsistent approach to business
2. Lack self believe and self-destruction
3. Confidence to stick to the path
4. Poor systems and team leading to setting priorities wrong
5. Putting off, until another day
6. Distractions at home, or in environment
7. Banking a result, before its actually happened
8. Listening to the head trash, rather than looking at the numbers say
9. Not allowing people to hold you accountable
10. And not having a firm WHY

So what are your reasons….tell me some

March 2009 – Business Coaching

Whatever happened to March 2009 – Coaching, that’s what happened. Finally new clients came running for help, because they can’t afford 2009 to be a bad year – regardless of the recession.

February 2009 – US Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke has warns Congress

Today, US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has warned Congress that without the right policies from the government, the US recession could last into 2010. That’s about 450 days into the current recession and between 450 to 670 to come out of recession.  So we are either at or about 90 days from the bottom of the cycle – doesn’t feel it though.

It shouldn’t matter really, because our plan should always be to beat the recession through the implementation of good strategies.  I am currently working with a number of companies that are growing through increased market share.

However, at some point a business could be diagnosed as sick. , but what are the tell signs that a business coach looks for…in my experience they can be classified as either problems with Money, Time or Team.  Here are some in no specific order:

Money

1. High sales revenues with low or no profit (no this is not a non-profit organization)
2. Excessive spending on advertising, but no sales to back up the cost
3. Customers only buying once, there is little or no repeat business
4. Lots of machinery or gadgets doing nothing, too quiet
5. Cutting edge technology over complicating business
6. Sales orders are cancelled

Time

1. Owner let’s employees go thinking they can save money by doing their jobs
2. Schedule is full, and to unable fit in other meetings
3. Family and special events are canceled
4. Owner working excessive hours
5. Repeating mistakes

Team

1. High turnover or absenteeism for the employees
2. Product or service quality poor
3. Owner making good employees work
4. No employee manual or acceptance of bad behaviors
5. You have employees, but not the right ones to face current market conditions
6. Employees run the business, without considering the owner’s direction

A simple way to find out if your business is sick is complete an actionCOACHquestionaireonline.

And then as a business owner we have to decide Are we in enough pain or  ready to do anything about it?

Our environment, beliefs and values can all factor into that decision process.  And so it was not surprising to be sitting in church a few weekends back and be reminded about some things that we so often forget.  It was during bible study, we were discussing the statement “There probably is no GOD, so forget your worries and go enjoy life”.

It was reminder of Pascal’s Wager, where it is safe to bet on their being a GOD, rather than against, simple because better things can happen if you do.  It really just an mathematical view of our Attitude (beliefs). Another way of say this is, the insurance of having a business coach out ways the actual cost, because the cost of going out of business is too high.

Having a bad attitude can surface in a variety of ways during our day, and we all are guilty at some point of time.  However, its important to understand that it often leads on a direct path to failure.  So ways bad attitudes can be seen are:

1. Negativity
2. Defeatist thinking
3. Sarcastic or cynical
4. Overly sensitive
5. Interruptions
6. Problem with your attitude

And of course people with bad attitudes Blame others, make Excuses and are in Denial (BED) about themselves or thier circumstances.  Whereas, those who are positive and getmassive results have Ownership, are held Accountable and Responsible (OAR) for their success.

So who is your business coach?